This World Green Building Week, from 8—12 September, WorldGBC is celebrating businesses taking bold steps to construct a greener, cleaner, smarter future – for themselves and the world.
Below are five case studies from five regions that showcase leadership in renewables, energy and water efficiency, healthy ecosystems, circularity and community building.
Mashatu Terrace in Gaborone, Botswana, is using the hot sun to cut back its energy bills. The building’s rooftop solar meets up to 100% of its energy needs, protects against power outages and reduces utility bills by up to 40%.
Mashatu Terreace is also the first five-star rated green building in the country.
TIME PROJECTS (Pty) LTD, Botswana Green Building Council, Green Building Council South Africa
Curitiba is known as the ‘green capital’ of Brazil and is home to a ceramics showroom that sets a new standard for sustainable retail. The building is made with certified wood and local low-carbon materials and the store is designed to be energy self-sufficient and certified carbon neutral.
Petinelli Inc, Portobello Shop Jardim Social, Portobello Grupo, Green Building Council Brasil
The Hung Kuo building in Taiwan, built in 1989 and once known for its iconic design, now stands out as one of the city’s top green performers thanks to a series of retrofits.
The modernised building features lifts that generate extra electricity, vegetation and reflective coatings that reduce Taipei’s urban heating, and a rainwater tank to reduce the risk of flash flooding. Tenants’ energy and water bills are down over 30%, while satisfaction levels soar to 99%.
In Prague, the former Sazka lottery HQ building is being turned into a modern, energy-efficient office complex. Over 85% of materials are being sent to new homes, like 31 tonnes of carpet tiles, passed to a flooring company for reuse and recycling.
The developers aim to reuse 20% of the building’s original materials in its second life too, demonstrating it’s possible for real estate to thrive while keeping resources in circulation and out of landfill.
In Jordan, low-income and refugee households often face inadequate housing. But the Green Affordable Homes initiative is changing that – equipping communities to tackle low-cost green home improvements, together.
By adding double glazed windows, thermal insulation, solar water heater and water-efficient fixtures, they have helped 55 households save precious dinar and energy bills have fallen by 40% on average as well as lessening cold-related sickness.